Seniors in a recent University of Michigan poll cited their pets with improving their well-being in multiple ways. (Adobe Stock photo)
A pet is often so much more than simply a companion. The proven mental health benefits they give to their owners are many and can include lower levels of anxiety, less loneliness and more day-to-day structure.
Among seniors in particular, those who own pets credit their furry friends with enriching their lives in multiple important ways, according to a recent University of Michigan survey.
The National Poll on Healthy Aging, conducted late last year among a group of 2,000 Americans between the ages of 50 and 80, found that well over half (57%) currently have a pet.
More than four-fifths of them (83%) said those pets provide them with feelings of purpose. And, at a time when isolation and loneliness are all too common in older people, 70% said their pet helps to connect them with others. Nearly half said their pet helps keep them physically active, and 63% said caring for their pet reduces stress.
